When Worlds Collide
by The Other White Rabbit
Summary: After the Spirit World experiences a destructive massacre by human invaders; the spirits are corrupted by poisonous miasma and begin to hunt humans. Friends become enemies and the bathhouse is turned upside-down. Chihiro returns and joins Haku to find the mastermind behind the murders. Yet everything is within a calculation. Mystery/Psychological/Thriller/Drama and romance:)
1. Return to the Spirit World

A/N: added some relevant and awesome quotes to the beginning of each chapter:) they often have to do with the content or have certain themes I feel are important.

Chapter I:

Return to the Spirit World

_"Revenge is an act of passion; vengeance of justice. Injuries are revenged; crimes are avenged."_

_-Samuel Johnson_

"I wish I have as much stamina as you, then I would be able to shoot arrows consistently throughout the competitions," Chihiro lamented half-heartedly, recollecting several incidents during kyudo competitions where victory narrowly escaped her grasp, and continued jogging along side her small, white, fox like canine partner, as they pushed past the thick brush of lush foliage in the forest just ten minutes from her home. With more preparation, attending nationals wouldn't be impossible; Chihiro decided to concentrate her effort on target practice later in the night. Cool wisps of the night wind streamed past her, sweeping loose coffee locks across her face and her duffle bag thumped against her back, heavy with a jumbled lot of archery equipment, a University of Tokyo criminal law text book, a handful of pencils, a vintage clutch with a sticker of a juggling giraffe and the words TURDUCKENS YEY3 on the backside in thick sharpie, and a day old pickled plum rice ball. Often times when she reached in to grab her bow, she would get poked by a scattered lot of random pencils, so a pencil case has long been on her list of things to buy, along with a new roll of athletic tape and a bottle of the coveted Canmake gold glitter nail polish for her best friend Aya's upcoming birthday. Freedom in University frequently led her to forget about chores and cleaning, further promoting dirtying her already cluttered backpack and room. Chihiro shrugged it off and convinced herself that she'd organize her belongings tomorrow, and with great cleaning enthusiasm, although sometimes she would listen to the "Happy Working Song" without even lifting a finger. Watching Criminal Minds was worth much more of her time, it was interesting to see the nonconcrete, mental side of a crime, rather than just the analysis and detective work of the "who-did-it". She had her fair share of lazing around, but what she loved most was archery. The process of pulling her arm back, letting the arrow cut cleanly through the air and strike the target; every last bit of it, she adored. Tranquility would overtake her nervous thoughts and converge her will into the head of the arrow, then as the arrow streamlined to her aim, an impact of adrenaline and excitement would make her heart beat and palms itch for success. It was just so much fun. The classes, the subjects, the freedom, and archery club, everyday was enjoyable (well, almost); in a nutshell, Uni was pretty good, "everyday she's shufflin'." American pop culture equated to love.

Chihiro threw her head back and took a deep breath of the fresh countryside air; she was finally back home.

Suddenly, Shiro skidded to a stop and barked madly.

Placing her hands on her knees, Chihiro slowed to a stop and bent over to catch a few rapid breathes and chuckled, "What has caught your eye now, Shiro?" If curiosity was so sly that it could kill cats, then it could probably kill dogs too; however, curiosity is what leads to the discovery of new subjects and events, expanding more of the vast unknown world.

Looming overhead was the robust, red "plastic" shrine tower-esque gate that tunneled into the far Spirit World. It was there that Chihiro became "Sen". The identity of "Sen" was only another face of Chihiro that slowly decayed as ten long years rolled by, the memories tucked in the depths of their heart, waiting to be realized. The only faint bit of reminiscence that she could clearly draw was a "promise"; it was a vow that they would meet again. On the other end of the promise was Haku, an important companion who held her hand in times of strife; perhaps he was even her first love. However, through time's ever-onward journey, his face became blurry. The only features that she could distinctly recall was a pair of sharp jaded eyes and hair in a form of some sort of a bowl cut; a hairstyle that was surprisingly making a comeback in the fashion world, much to Aya's dismay. Chihiro smiled at the thought, they sure were fine fragments of her childhood past.

"Sen," Chihiro murmured, thinking aloud, taking two fingers and bending them like quotation marks, emphasizing her "past" as Sen. Pursing her lips into a tight smile, she bent her fingers into quotes again for fun; she thought of them like little rabbits, kind of cute. Or they could be winking snails. Wink, wink. She then crouched down to pet Shiro, only to suddenly withdraw her hand as she met the callous gaze of the fat stone statue that bore the slightest resemblance to an ape. It was still as creepy as ever. For a fleeting moment it seemed like there was a slight glare on the statue's glazed eyes, but suddenly, the pair of stone eyes flickered into a piercing red glow that seemed to evince a murderous intent. Chihiro flinched at the eerie light and quickly scooped Shiro up, keeping a solid gaze; she took a few steps back then broke out into a run.

A cloud of ill-omened gloom shrouded the forest, it was a gripping shadow of cold that chilled her to the bone, the winds prodding past her sweatshirt and biting her bare calves as she was only clad in running shorts and dirty sneakers. Panting, she bolted through the dense clumps of trees and bushes, resulting in several scratches and streaks of wet dirt coating her exposed legs. The Spirit World was not benign; it was harsh and unforgiving, allowing only the strongest to survive. And that statue. That ugly statue with red eyes. Instincts told her that the iris color change was only a prelude of a long tale of disturbance ahead, maybe it was even cursing her, spooky…she silently laughed at her foolishness, statues could not inflict curses anyways. Without looking back, she held onto Shiro tightly and proceeded forward, only to collide into a web of woven tree branches. Chihiro hopped back up on her feet but then stood frozen in her steps. The coarse branches and roots of the trees were everywhere, shifting in abstract wave like motions, some scuttled around her foot and others entangled in the skies, enclosing her in a net of bark and leaves. Coils of olive shaded vines shot out from underneath the dirt, rooting her legs to the ground and longer lianas bound her arms in place, rendering her unable to move. Wiggling her foot, pulling her arms, and even just plain struggling could not loosen the grips of the sturdy plants, if not, they only grew tighter. Taking a deep breath, Chihiro let out her frustration in a huff; she just had to relax and the plants would probably loosen the grip enough so that she could slip out. Shiro barked and made several attempts to chew off the crawlers, but to only have no success as more vines twisted their way forward and piled onto Chihiro's body. Forget about relaxing, she decided to concentrate on being able to breathe instead.

…

Malicious demons and ghastly spirits wandered around in the city, a myriad of _oni_, _tengu_, _kappa_, _yokai_, and _yurei_ flooded the streets of the housing and public works areas, cramming into plazas and shopping centers. Tokyo became a mesh of monster and man, although most people seemed to be unaware of their ominous presence. Rivers of red trickled along roadsides, and pools of it lay in large puddles in the cement, giving the air a pungent smell of rust and death. Disregarding the unsightly scenes of tossed corpses and the awful stench of rotting flesh, people drifted to and fro, hurrying along in the grey cities; perhaps they were even unaware of the catastrophe in front of them. Children frolicked in the parks of yellowing grass, playing hide-and-seek, and not one noticed their missing companion. The beasts and spirits, they stood wide-eyed, pupils filled with insane glee and smiles like the crescent moon with a wash of red over their teeth. An angel winged man dressed in a suit dipped his finger in splotch of red and kneeled on the sidewalk, dragging his finger across the cement into the word "DEATH" then lapped off the remaining blood that stained his skin. Oh, how delicious the blood of man is. A brunet women approached him zealously, tapped his shoulder softly and handed him an ancient gold pocket watch then flounced off; the winged man thanked her with a slight bow, and just as the woman danced away, he took the watch and crushed its mechanic gears with the strength of his hands and laughed. Death swallowed the world and jeered at man's arrogant impudence.

Chihiro lurched forward violently back into sitting position and pressed her fingers to her temples, palms sweaty. It has been a long time since her last nightmare, and this dream was a queer one. A dream so real, that she could feel the heartbeat of death and the cold sensation of shock at the nape of her neck. Perchance the strange dream was an obnoxious sign that the stress of University was finally getting to her. Shiro licked her hands gently with his rough tongue, as if he was reassuring her, lapping up droplets of sweat.

"Mm," Chihiro mumbled, feeling quite refreshed, as she stretched her arms towards the sky, loosening her tightened muscles and flopped back down in a sigh. Again, Aya was right, taking a session of yoga would be a great stress reliever. The pressure for success was fully capable of destroying the poise of an ambitious individual, even through minute errors. Score: Aya vs. Chihiro, 2-0. Someday she would close in the gap of the scores, just someday, Chihiro vowed, or frankly, she could simply fail to notify Aya about her win. She needed not to know. Shifting her weight, she reached over to pet Shiro, only to fall out of a tree and land painfully on top of her duffle bag.

"Shoot," she muttered, after hearing several arrows snap sharply underneath her weight. Chihiro frantically unzipped her bag, thank goodness the bow and most arrows remained in tact. Speaking of which, why was she in a tree? With her thoughts muddled with faint traces of tiredness, she skimmed the horizons wearily then tilted her head back and groaned. This was definitely not the forest near her house. A cluster of traditional Japanese stores laid snuggly side by side across stretches of fresh meadows dotted with trees and lined by a faraway ribbon of brown rock. In the center of the plaza was an adorned green-roofed, red-washed building, a few stories high at most. Upon her realization, Chihiro stood up, swung her duffle bag onto her back, and whined playfully to Shiro as he lazily padded to her side, "Hurry, hurry. We have to get out of here~" The Spirit World was not a great place to get mixed up in. That nasty old witch…her parents turning into pigs…ugh. Her desire to meet Haku over the years had greatly dimmed due to the long passed time, and now, the bad outweighed the good. "Exit…goodness, where did we even enter…" she said, disappointed that she could not remember the directions from her past experiences. Argh, you can do it brain! Think…think…Chihiro thought, silently attempting to awaken any sudden epiphanies, but still could recall nothing.

…

A good hour or so had passed, and Chihiro and Shiro wandered aimlessly, desperately looking for the path to the human world.

"Maybe it would be best if we asked for directions," Chihiro sighed with a slight pout, screw her terrible direction sense. Now she really wanted their useless GPS Pon-Pon. Originally Chihiro named it Lilly, but discovered in the latter that her father substituted in the name Pon-Pon out of confusion. Uninvited, they strolled into the chain of restaurants, on the look out for a helpful spirit. However, in the sunny midafternoon, there was not a single soul present. She gritted her teeth and kept on a straight path until she reached a bridge. Wooden planks held the bridge and red-gated arches fronted to the doorway of the large red building; a sea the color of translucent sapphire isolated the edifice from the strip of land. The two stared at the magnificent scenery in awe for a moment's time, then decided to set foot across the bridge.

"What are you doing here?" a young man hissed, roughly around the same age as she was, although he was about a head taller, as he dashed towards them from behind the building. He wore his tousled midnight green hair in a not-bowl cut style. Rather it was a choppy, angular cut that grazed across the top of his cheekbones and the nape of his neck in the back. Much too traditionally dressed for her taste, he was attired in a pair of white _tattsuke bakama_ and an indigo tunic; it looked rather similar to a sleeveless _yukata_, which exposed his muscular arms. "Why are you here?" he asked again, in a more demanding tone, his jade eyes hinting annoyance.

"I would like to know the answer to that too," she shrugged.

"Leave, it is dangerous here," he commanded.

"…I can't find the exit," Chihiro stammered timidly under his condescending attitude, looking down at her feet.

"Not this again…" he moaned, "Alright, listen carefully. Take this path straight down and run to the meadows and cross that patch of brown rocks, then you should see the entrance of the Human World across the hill. But you have to hurry, because…" he paused and looked sideways and said, "Goddammit." A blanket of darkness seeped through the edges of the land and dragged itself overhead, and the paper lanterns flickered on, casting a warm, orange glow onto the ethereal street side. The Spirits were awakening.

"This way," he grabbed Chihiro's hand forcefully and pulled her with him as he ran off the bridge. The strength of his grip was so tight that it felt as if he was cutting off her circulation; she wiggled her hand out of his constricting grasp and followed instep with him. "Ah, sorry about that," he said, staring straight ahead. Silhouettes of blob shaped specters were already on the move. "But I'm afraid we might not make it on time. Give me your hand." He reached out his hand for her to hold; once she took his hand, he released a spurt of energy, creating a torrent of wind that swept them off their feet.

At first, on liftoff, Chihiro squeezed her eyes shut and locked her hand in a death grip into to his, afraid to look downward. The mild winds caressed her face as she glided across the ground, making it slightly tempting to open her eyes. She warily opened one eye, then both as she watched restaurants and stands fly by in no more than a blur.

"We're too late," he growled crossly and made a soft landing, the bed of rocks have already become a gaping sea and masked spirits in sunset robes floated out from a ship and onto land. "Close your eyes," he ordered expressionlessly. Chihiro nodded and fluttered her eyes shut; right now he was the only person who she could trust to some substantial degree, so, why not. "Okay," he said, indicating that she could open her eyes, "I put a spell on you; the spirits here won't be able to detect your presence. You should be safe," he sighed, "We cannot do anything now, follow me. By the way, I'm Haku."

"I know," Chihiro replied, remaining two steps behind him. Although the hair was different, his face matched fairly well with the bits and pieces her memory. The feel of his hand was similar too, large but gentle.

"So you remember," Haku looked back at her with a small grin, a glimpse of the innocent boy he used to be.

"Of course," Chihiro laughed, "It was quite an exhilarating experience, meeting so many new people. Except the fact that my parents were transformed into pigs…yeah…that wasn't quite as pleasant," she said, knitting her eyebrows and pressing her lips into a thin line. It was her "odd" face, perfectly accessible when something strange or unpleasant came up. "ARGH!" she suddenly yelled in realization.

Haku balked, startled. "What was that for?" he shouted back in surprise.

"Shiro…I forgot Shiro," she uttered. How could she have forgotten him? Chihiro face-palmed herself for failing to care for her friend. "I have to go back," she said, panicking, and started back towards the bridge, silently praying that Shiro would be safe.

"I don't think you have to worry," Haku called out to her, pointing to her squirming duffle bag.

Chihiro nodded and quickly slipped the bag off her shoulder and opened it, smiling in relief as she lifted Shiro out and gave him a nose-nuzzle.

"Why do you have a _kitsune_ with you?" Haku questioned from behind her, eyeing Shiro suspiciously. Kitsune spirits normally did not befriend humans.

"Kitsune?" Chihiro turned to him with a quizzical look, lifting one eyebrow, then laughed, "You mean Shiro? I found him injured by a roadbed and took him home."

Haku responded in a scowl, a bit piqued at her laughter towards him. Still, he was thoroughly convinced that he was right. "Well," he said, walking back, hands clasped against the back of his head, "We are heading back to the bathhouse anyways," he looked over his shoulder stoically at Chihiro, "It was not a wise choice to come here; you're in deep shit now. This place is much worse than it used to be."

"It is? It looks pretty much the same," she said with a questionable frown, trailing behind him.

"Who are you kidding," he lashed out, but was completely serious, "Not all spirits are kind. You stumbled into the wrong place at the wrong time. Right now many spirits both good and evil are being corrupted into an endless cycle of feeding on human blood." He looked back at her with a daunting grin, but withdrew himself after noticing that she had no particular reaction. "If you have not noticed yet, the air around here has become disgustingly suffocating; all that black fog is a gathering of poisonous miasma, it's eating up the divine power and the souls of those in the Spirit World. What is most surprising is that this all happened after that damned hag died and the invasion of the humans. In addition to that, Zeniba vanished without a trace and Kamaji has faded away. As of now, by simply being a human, you will unconsciously make several enemies from those you saw as your companions ten years ago. And the loopholes. After that incident, many breaches were created, forming an unguarded path from the Spirit World to the Human World, and even with all my power, I cannot seal all of them. Do you know? Both your people and mine are not in a favorable situation. The results of crossing paths between both worlds will be disastrous," Haku concluded in a glaring stare ahead, hands balled into fists at his side, "This world is mad."

There was a dead silence; Chihiro did not say a single word, not that she was frozen from shock, but because she could not comfort those of the Spirit World. It is clearly evident that Haku's world was crumbling right in front of his eyes, and there was nothing he could do. Even a string of the most beautiful words could not provide a sense of security; words alone were only false hopes and emptiness. The most eloquent phrases became ash at the foot of the victim when empathy does not exist. When one loses a treasure, the other cannot say, "Don't cry," because they have all the right to cry, those two words do not offer any promise that everything will be alright.

"Say something," Haku barked, ignoring her gaze.

"What?" Chihiro exclaimed, entirely confused. Normally, people hardly appreciate others probing at their wounds, right?

"Political correctness is annoying. Besides, it's less awkward if you say something."

"Oh. If that's the case," Chihiro said, flapping her arms a bit as the mood gradually lightened up, "I'm hungry."

"Have you eaten anything yet?" he asked, giving her a sideways glance.

"I haven't, not since I came here. But I think I have a rice ball," she replied, shuffling through her bag, then pulled out a squashed, putrid mass of old rice with splotches of red that appeared to be the remains of pickled plum. Haku took one glance at it and frowned in revulsion, wondering if that mass was even considered rice anymore. He quickly grabbed the rice ball from her hand and threw it far over the houses and onto the grass.

"Hey…" Chihiro started, but was instantly cut off.

"I don't have any food on me right now, but if you don't eat, you're bound to disappear again," Haku pointed out, "The bathhouse is just ahead."

The pair walked together for a moment more, and Chihiro entered into the ever-familiar bathhouse as Haku held the door opened and ushered her in.

…

No-Face slithered along the path, dragging his black limpid body across the uneven roadbed and lumbered on in a snail racing pace. Sen was back. The masked black spirit pressed his palms together and brought out the golden seal. He must give it to Sen; she was Zeniba's "solution." Zeniba's disappearance, Yubaba and Kamaji's death…let it not be all in vain, let the spirits face justice, their revenge has already been paid back in full. No-Face looked towards the bathhouse, in there was Sen.


	2. Perilous Fog

A/N:

Please read and review~

Thank you Libby16 for the review, it was really encouraging:)

Chapter II

Perilous Fog

_"Hatred, which could destroy so much, never failed to destroy the man who hated, and this was an immutable law."_

_-James A. Baldwin_

"Uh, uh," he grunted, remembering the words Zeniba spoke.

The night was a midnight blue with a cloud of fog so thick that it smothered the little wooden cabin. A fire crackled sparks of orange and gold as Zeniba sat knitting on a rocking chair, warming her feet with the air-thirsty flames.

"Tomorrow will be a grave day," Zeniba stated, looking up from her knitting at No-Face as he continued to spin thread. "Yes, tomorrow will be devastating," the elderly women wrinkled her prominent nose on her oversized face and pushed up the spectacles that shielded her lavender-lidded eyes, bobbing her head as if another commented on her statement.

No-Face stared back at her, confused that the time, then went back to spinning.

"No-Face," Zeniba cooed, "You will be alright," and smiled gently. "And as for me…I cannot see it. But. We have a savior!" She jumped up from her chair, bumbled to the walnut dresser ornamented with floral detail, pulled out her golden seal. "Names are powerful," she declared, holding the seal to the fire, catching a ray of gilt light that bent off the metal at a tangent. "When Sen comes, you give her this. That dear, please welcome her. Don't forget, that your debts are still unpaid, and do not hate onto her, for she is a good child."

Then tomorrow came. It was a deadly, dreadful tomorrow. News about the incident spread like wildfire, even to the swamps of Zeniba's home. That day Zeniba never came back, she spoke of gathering herbs in the forest, but disappeared. That fateful day, Yubaba was murdered from greed of spiteful human wanderers in the bathhouse that made off with her jewels and riches. Kamaji suffered fatal wounds from a brawl with the invading mankind and Haku was also hurt from trying to defend the bathhouse. The humans had a strange creation; it was a metal cylinder that drove another small piece of metal into others with one pull of a trigger. That little piece of metal spun in lightning speeds, one second and it bore a bloody hole through the victim. The visual reaction time for a human is normally around the range of .18 to .2 seconds; spirits may be accustomed to slightly faster speeds. However, when the bullet is seen, it has either already left a trail of seeping red life at point blank range or at a distance unavoidable. How Haku survived, rumors contradicted each other; how powerful Yubaba passed, there were only feeble theories. That sorrowful day, No-Face took the seal for safekeeping and anticipated Sen's arrival.

...

No-Face sighed and continued heading towards the bathhouse, hoping that Sen would remember him and accept the seal. Though years passed since that fateful day, the Spirit World only continued spiraling into chaos, remaining hardhearted and revenge driven.

…

The interior of the bathhouse seemed remarkably large in comparison to the compact view of the outer walls of the sauna. Haku led the way after he and Chihiro passed through the wooden paned front door and strolled passed the front desk. The front desk was a large wooden chamber with thick tablets of with _kanji _hanging on nails that bore through the rim of wooden plank on the low ceiling. An _aniyaku _slouched over, scribbling away with a calligraphy brush, only looking up as to greet Haku and give a revolting beam as he patted the loose hairs on his moustache in place. His eyes were incredibly wide set and his nose sat in the middle of his face like a potato; Chihiro was a tad frightened as she was reminded of the stone statue outside the Spirit World gate by his ape like features. A wafting smell of calming herbs flowed towards the two as they journeyed on: past the entrance with the decorative painted dividers, the rows of rice paper sliding doors, and the ripe crowd of a multitude of diverse spirits fresh from bathing. They went roundabout the main story that was speckled with round clay tubs filled with sea foam green water and lady assistants dressed in beautiful, embroidered silken _kimonos_ that helped wash the guests.

"Do you smell a human?" a cyclops spirit asked loudly, sniffing the air in curiosity.

Chihiro and Haku turned to each other, both alarmed as murmurs rippled through the crowd about the possible presence of a human dirtying the bathhouse. The spell was wearing off. Haku grimaced and quickly grabbed Chihiro's hand and made a mad dash towards the small red elevator and pressed the button forcefully. The run was quite refreshing and stimulating actually; Chihiro felt like such a super ninja, although she refrained from telling Haku who would only scorn her at the childish thought. The red gates of the door seemed to open so slow that eternity could pass, and as the door finally stood ready for entrance, both hurriedly jumped in, only to find the presence of another accompanying guest. A giant white radish spirit leaned lazily against the walls of the elevator, its eyes sleepy and its root vegetable facial extensions twitched ever so slightly. On top of its head sat a fire truck red cap, and it was only clothed in the same colored loincloth; the radish spirit eyed Chihiro steadily, and then went about his own business. She stood stiff next to it, but relaxed after he casually looked away.

"Radish spirits are peaceful, you have no need worry," Haku reassured her, then said to the spirit, "Don't tell anyone about her, alright?" The radish spirit gave a clumsy nod.

The elevator clicked open onto one of the many floors of the bathhouse, looking down to a ring of rooms and more tubs. Again, Haku reached for Chihiro's hand, but instead, she jerked her hand away and said, "I can run by myself," her deep round eyes determined to support herself.

"Suit yourself," Haku shrugged, running ahead, dashing through many corridors but paused in front of a brunet woman, allowing Chihiro to catch up to him.

"You're still alive, "_Master_" Haku," she sneered. Her long, straight brown hair brushed against her waist, and her bangs were parted in a loose heart shape. Instead of wearing the familiar salmon shaded cleaning outfit, she was dressed in a snugly fit white _yukata_ that had become the faded yellow color of old parchment paper. Her figure had become very thin, thinner than Chihiro could recall, so that the even meekest wind could blow her away.

"If I were dead, you would be on your death bed too," he snapped back. Everyday she would jeer at him like so, it was tolerable in the beginning, but now her taunts began to irk him and make his skin crawl.

"Then let my death be a curse to you," she retorted with an uncomfortable grin, "When I lay the life sucked out of me in the boiler room, you will know."

Haku twitched. This woman had become incredibly disgusting and consumed by grief; he grew increasingly impatient at her inability to cope and move on. "Why the hell are you so still hung up with that? Get your head out of the clouds," he started, raising his voice, but stopped after realizing Chihiro was next to him, listening to their entire conversation. "This is Chihiro, or you may know her as Sen. Chihiro, this is Rin," he reintroduced them both to each other, whether it was out of etiquette or need to change the subject, Chihiro did not know, but she leaned more towards the second choice.

"Sen?" Rin exclaimed, her mood and expressions transformed completely at the sound of that name. "You're back! You wouldn't know how much we've all missed you, lil' dope," she smiled and gave her a tight hug.

Likewise, Chihiro wrapped her arms around the woman awkwardly, "I missed you guys too," she mumbled feebly.

"Well, I'm taking her to my room," he said, jabbing his thumb towards the mess of chattering spirits downstairs, "Feel free to keep her company if you wish."

…

The room was very spacious and traditionally decorated like the entire bathhouse and screamed Japanese. The smooth wooden floor was overlaid with pale _tatami _mats that contrasted with the steel blue walls that held wooden frames, attachable drawers, and neat slabs of shelf in place. Delicate sheets of rice paper covered the sliding doors and scrolls, depicting serene scenes of cranes feeding by a river lined by _sakura_ trees and small waterfalls that flowed down the ledges of fertile mountains. Pottery jars varnished in pastel colors and vases that held simple flowers were arranged neatly on the shelves and drawers for aesthetic reasons; a stout, black wooded coffee table sat in the corner of the room, promising relaxation and peaceful conversations or small snacking. To Chihiro, his room seemed extremely different from his hot-blooded personality: it seemed much to calm to suit him. She sat down quietly and began to unpack her bag. Rin plopped down next to her and muttered angrily under her breath, her words out of earshot for Chihiro to determine.

"Criminal Law," Rin read, taking hold of Chihiro's textbook, "Sounds interesting." She turned the thick jam cover and noticed a strange picture of something along the lines of a screaming, elderly fish. "What is this?" she said candidly, much more a critical statement than as a question.

"It's a dying whale," Chihiro responded, still unpacking. Aya had secretly drew it in earlier at the same time she decided to scribble "TURDUCKENS YEY3" on her newly thrifted clutch.

Rin took another glance at the whale and said "So Sen," she closed the book. "What's the human world like?"

"Well," said Chihiro as she lifted out her bow, plucking the string lightly, "It's quite different from here. I would say, more urbanized and Western." She found herself giving a long-winded description of Tokyo, its tall buildings, bright billboards, trend setting stores, and the bustling life of all sorts of people. Eventually she drifted from her descriptions to ramblings about her life in the University of Tokyo, her criminal law course, her dorm life with Aya, and archery. As she spoke with enthusiasm, she smiled at those warm pieces of her life, though a faint sense of homesickness began to tug at her. She missed dancing to Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" with Aya in their Pokémon pajama suits. She missed screaming "Nooo!" (like Luke Skywalker when he found out that Darth Vader was his father) during the week of final exams. Most of all, she desired for the arrow to slip through her hands and find its way to the center of the three ringed target at _kyudo_ competitions.

"I hate humans," Rin interrupted, her nose wrinkled in abhorrence. "Do you know what they do? Everyday they live selfishly and exploit us. Useless trash like them should disappear," she traced the floor tatami lines with her finger and glowered. "They depend on others and cry out in desperation from sloth. The only thing they are capable of doing is stabbing others in the back. Incapable and stupid. But Sen, you are different," she declared airily, shrugging her bony shoulders and let out a dry laugh.

Chihiro sat vexed in her seat, resenting Rin for asking the question then doling a protrusive comment. Who does this woman think she is? She had no right to degrade others with her own pitiful state. Chihiro bit her lip and stayed silent, letting negative thoughts take over her logic until she finally came to this realization. Taking a deep breath, she thought to herself, "I will not be bothered because I am not that petty," and decided not to be ruffled by her insult. Perhaps that grudge stemmed from "that day" Haku spoke of; if Rin grew bitter over the losses from then, Chihiro thought she could understand the reason for her prejudice, at least just a little.

"Do you know this thing they call "law"?" Rin leered, pointing at Chihiro's textbook. "It's a fence for every one of those two legged monsters in order for the top dogs to live lavishly in their own favor. The pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness?" she mocked, quoting the Declaration of Independence, "Those are just pretty words to deceive a fool. Do you know how humans obtain happiness? By stepping on others."

The door slid open softly as Haku stepped in with a plate piled with warm squares of grilled _mochi_; Chihiro felt a strange sense of relief when he sat down opposite of her and placed the plate in between them. Sure enough, Rin stood up, glared at him, and sauntered out the door with a toss of her hair. Sighing deeply, Chihiro nodded a "thanks" to Haku, who seemed to understand the small gesture, for both the food and driving Rin away. She reached for a mochi and chomped on it, partially out of hunger and not knowing what subject to start a conversation on. Often times in Uni she would feel so unfeminine as she slurped ramen in her Pokémon pajamas in the dorm with Mozart blasting in the background in the effort to slightly enhance her intelligence before tests; cooking was not her forte, she could only eat.

"This is really good," Chihiro piped, staring at her half-eaten mochi, forgetting all about Rin. "So tasty!" she exclaimed, squeezing her eyes shut and doing a little fist pump in celebration. "This is like heaven inside my mouth," Chihiro turned to Haku excitedly, "My taste buds are rejoicing for the glory of great food. I would totally just lick my fingers and that entire plate to clean it off. I'm disgusting, I know," she laughed.

Haku eyed her questionably, and then said, "You really have no shame, do you."

"Yeah, I think I'm just a shameless person in general," Chihiro replied thoughtfully, nibbling at her finger, "I would just celebrate that fact with the world."

…

Sheer blades of wind fell through the dark leaves of the swaying branches that leaned against Haku's high veranda, whispering nature's secrets in hushed voices to the quiet door. The door slid open shakily, Shiro nudged it with his nose and padded out into the faint glow of a full moon. He looked around himself carefully, Chihiro was asleep, changed into a snow-white yukata, and Haku was out and about with business. Shiro sighed with a small smile and said to the moon, "It's been a while," and engulfed himself in a cloud of translucent smoke. A thin reed dropped from his head, it has been long since he assumed his original appearance, five years in fact. His size had doubled and his coat became a bittersweet orange that ran steadily down his entire being until it split into a fan of five bushy tails. "Good evening, Kohaku," the fox smiled, sensing a dragon in the form of a human watching him from behind the bamboo door.

The door opened promptly as Haku said, "I thought so. And who knew that it would be you, Tsukasa."

"And you thought right," the fox smiled.

"Why are you with Chihiro?" Haku asked bluntly. It was the same question as earlier, generally kitsune do not give loyalty to humans freely; it was quite unusual for Tsukasa to follow Chihiro around like a dog.

"Oh my, straight to the point. How professional of you," Tsukasa smirked, "Well. Why do you want to know?" he shot back, winking audaciously, vaguely hinting at Haku's past adoration for Chihiro.

"Stop that. It's also ten times creepier when you're speaking to me through telepathy," Haku said, his face displaying an expression with a touch of distaste towards Tsukasa's obviously provocative statement. "It's not like that," Haku faced the moon, then looked back at Tsukasa, "Ten years can bring about much change."

"Really," the fox stated doubtfully.

"What, did you expect me to say that I would love her forever?" Haku retorted, a bit annoyed by Tsukasa's apathetic disbelief.

"Actually I'm glad you didn't say that, because that would be a lie," Tsukasa replied, "Whichever gentleman tells his lover that he would love her forever is a liar. First of all he will not live forever. Secondly, many of them do not even know what love is. Third…do you think that either spirits or humans have that enormous capacity to love forever? Over what these eyes have witnessed in the past five hundred years, I think not. Only His love is eternal," he concluded, looking fondly at the moon.

"You sound like an old man who's marrying his daughter away."

"It appears that these days women seem to like older men," he laughed, then caught Haku's perplexed look with a tad of disgust. "I've been watching too many Korean dramas in the human world. There's this whole wave of Hallyu craze going on…oh sweet grapefruits, I guess I've gradually become immune to the tri-layer cheese-coated romance of theirs."

Haku remained unconvinced.

"You used to be such a sweet kid, you know," Tsukasa frankly said, changing the conversation while idly picking at loose lumps of fur on his front leg. That was a true statement to some extent. After Haku was freed from the bondage of Yubaba's contract, he resumed his previous warmer disposition. His character would have most likely been maintained, had it not been for the great backlash from the massacre that threw the bathhouse for a spin and pushed the responsibilities of ownership into Haku's hands.

Haku frowned, embarrassed by Tsukasa's comment about his past self. "That was too long ago," he said huffily.

"You still have a bit of that innocent child inside of you," the kitsune said, exposing Haku's naïve response; Tsukasa was clearly entertained, but stopped his urge to tease him a bit more in fear of going overboard. "Forgive me for my rudeness and my tendency to make sardonic comments," Tsukasa apologized, then fell into a more serious conduct. The surrounding atmosphere instantly became solemn, there were no more jokes or sarcastic remarks. "That innocence is a precious characteristic in this distorted world; however, it can cost your life if you become ignorant to the darkness in some of spirits' hearts," he looked straight at Haku, observing him a little, then brought the subject back to the original topic. "On another note, answering your previous question. When did I meet Chihiro?" Tsukasa tilted his head up and thought for a bit. "I would say a little less than a year after the Human Invasion. Our clan had already split to investigate the source of the miasma not long after the outbreak of human consumption. It really is a pity that spirits were poisoning themselves with human blood to gain self-glorification and corrupting their mindset," he shook his head sadly, "The clan suffered numerous failures as well, casualties peaked and many were dragged into the deception of the miasma. But that day there was a lead. My sister and I had tracked down an incredibly powerful tengu whose influence was extended to both spirits and humans. He had a strange name, though I cannot recall it at the moment, and wielded far more power than Yubaba could ever achieve in centuries. At once with this discovery, we were all in pursuit of him, but in the midst of it all, I fell into a loophole in the middle of the forest clearing and tumbled into the Human World. There, all of my remaining strength was exhausted and I collapsed on the roadside, transformed back to my weaker puppy-like state. It was then that Chihiro picked me up and nursed me back to health; I am eternally indebted to her care. Many times I tried to return, but it was all in vain. In regards to my sister, I have also heard that she has disappeared, vanished almost. With only her and I knowing the true face of the tengu, almost all the work of the clan was down the drain with our disappearance. I'm sorry Kohaku, even until now, we have gotten absolutely nowhere."

"No, thank you for all of your efforts," Haku nodded appreciatively, "It was under my command that your clan has suffered this much; I will bear full responsibility all the losses. Tsukasa, your sister…even to this day, we cannot find her."

"We'll just have to continue looking then," Tsukasa replied, "I'm sure we can find her, I can sense it." He smiled yet again, "And Kohaku, it is none but an honor to work with you."

…

Chihiro blinked twice, awake in the darkness. Shiro…no Tsukasa, was a spirit? She pulled the blankets over her head and lay silently. Perhaps it was not much of a surprise anyways; he always rubbed her as a little strange for a typical dog. As they say, expect the unexpected. Lethargy overtook her once again, as Haku and Shiro's conversation faded into rhythmic murmuring in the background; Chihiro fell asleep, quite peacefully, in fact.

…

Golden streams of daylight flooded the room, illuminating dark corners and stringing its radiance onto the walls, daintily waltzing across the blue pools of color. The warm marigold hue of the sun seeped through Chihiro's fluttering eyelids and she awoke early out of habit. She sat up slowly and stretched her arms, then crawled out from her rolled up burrito of blankets of her futon. Haku lay on the floor, fast asleep with only one blanket, his brow creased with frustration. Shiro lay in his white puppy form at the foot of the small coffee table, head tucked between his paws. If she remembered correctly, the spirits rested in the day and woke at night. This would be a great chance for her to escape back into the Human World. Quietly, Chihiro packed her bag and lugged it over her shoulder; perhaps she could leave this place through the entrance, and Shiro would be left in the Spirit world, for it is his rightful home. She approached Shiro silently and gave him one last pat on the head and smiled. Turning around, she left the room and closed the door behind her. She ran down the long hallway and rode the elevator to the first floor. All was silent and Chihiro let out a sigh of relief and marched out the bathhouse.

…

"Impossible," Chihiro gasped, wide eyed. She was beyond the bed of rocks dried without water, standing next to an aged tree in the middle of the grassy plain. The red building with the portal over the hill-the exit to the Human World-was gone. No way. Chihiro shuddered a bit. No, there must still be a way for her to go home. She took another breath and calmed herself. It is impossible for an entire building to simply vanish, she must have just headed in the wrong direction.

"Hey lady," a masculine voice called out.

Chihiro jumped in surprise then whirled around to see a young boy, about fifteen to eighteen years of age, squatting on top of a sturdy tree branch. He snickered at her reaction, tousled his sandy blonde hair, and stared at her through his deep amber eyes. He wore a large amethyst yukata that draped loosely over his shoulders and nipped his ankles.

"Did the tengu call you here?" he asked.

"What?" Chihiro said, confused. What tengu?

"I said, did the tengu call you here," he repeated, his eyes skimmed over her impatiently.

"No?" Chihiro answered tentatively, although it was a faint possibility, because she did not know how she arrived in the Spirit World at all.

"That's weird," he replied, "Because you have his mark over your eye." He hopped down from the tree and approached her carefully, gently placing his hand over her eye. Chihiro shrank back and winced. A burst of pallid feathers fell from her left eye, revealing a golden, circular seal with the design of an ornamented clock.

…

A/N:

Hey! Thanks for reading! In case any of you were like "WTF that isn't like Haku at all," or "OMG what's with Rin's freaky issues." Well, haha, I promise it will all make sense later! (hopefully…trolololol.) Also, with Rin's little spiel I was like "Uh oh, politics! But…it contributes to the plot…and her character…" So I hope none of you find it offensive or anything…I wasn't trying to bash on the Declaration of Independence, I swear!

~The Other White Rabbit:D


	3. Thorny Paths

A/N:

Sorry for the late update! All that testing…ahhh… D:

For anyone who noticed a really stupid mistake in Chp II where Chihiro overhears Haku and Tsukasa's telepathic conversation (? which totally does not make sense…how did I not notice? Weird.), err, it wasn't telepathic actually…it was quite normal talking:D

By the way, rated T for language ^-^

A/N at the end for anyone curious about the 'romance' that seems to be virtually nonexistent in the chapters. Does anyone actually read these? Lol.

Chapter III

Thorny Paths

_"For time and the world do not stand still. Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or the present are certain to miss the future."_

_-John F. Kennedy_

Haku bolted up from his sleep. Crap. Humans usually woke up early in the morning; Chihiro was probably hungry by then, he should probably fetch her something from the kitchen. Haku skimmed his eyes idly around the austere room in search for Chihiro, still much too tired to properly function, then turned groggily to the pile of sheets on her futon. Was she still asleep? If she were awake, she would probably be wandering around in the room doing whatnot by now. Somehow Haku managed to muster a bit of motivation and pushed himself up from lying position; he trudged over to the doorway ready to roam the kitchen until he realized something odd. All of Chihiro's possessions were gone. Suddenly he turned back and rushed over to Tsukasa, his previous tiredness gone, and shook his tiny puppy shoulders hard.

"Tsukasa," he hissed. There was no response from the kitsune. Tsukasa slept still as a log. "Tsukasa," he repeated, louder this time.

"What is it…so early in the morning," Tsukasa finally grumbled, burying his face further into his palms.

"Have you seen Chihiro?" Chances are, he probably was still snoring away at the time, but it was worth a try.

"No," the fox mumbled lazily, "Something wrong?"

Haku let go of the dog and stood up. "Damn it," he growled, slamming the screen door wide open, "Nothing."

"People don't swear when there's nothing wrong, you know," was Tsukasa's reason.

"Just go back to sleep." The door closed shut with a thud and Haku ran down the hall. God, Chihiro had better be in the bathhouse somewhere, even there it was not completely safe. Didn't he tell her the Spirit World had become a dangerous place? He let out a frustrated sigh and continued searching each room and corridor for her presence. Now he really regretted casting another spell to erase that human scent of hers, it would have been much easier to track her had it not have been for that. As much as he would hate to admit it, there were many high-leveled spirits that could effortlessly see through his spells. If Chihiro happened to encounter any of them, the chances of her death would not be low. Another reason why he hated being manager of the bathhouse, it was all title and responsibilities. Yet he would rather die than give up his position, what he started he must finish.

…

"Rin," Haku whispered, stepping into a room of the female dormitory, carefully winding his way around many resting worker ladies, not wanting to rouse them. "Oh scandalous," people might say, but he had no such motives; it was rather a last resort to ask Rin about Chihiro's possible whereabouts, she could even be with her in fact.

The weasel spirit woman sat up and yawned, pulled at her kimono, then met Haku's gaze. Her innocent expression immediately became a demon-like scowl, "Piss off you prick," she snarled, then threw her bed covers over her head once more.

Just who was the prick. Haku repressed the urge to retort with nasty comment; now he needed her cooperation, not the risk of starting a heated quarrel. "Rin," he said, "Have you seen Chihiro?"

"No, I haven't! " she barked, glaring angrily at him, then pulled back her sheets and rolled over to her side.

Haku left the room in a foul mood and quickly transformed into his true dragon body. Slender and white his form became, a mane of green ran down his back, and his head sprouted a twin pair of horns; he took a big whiff of the air, he could identify her scent better now, that Chihiro, then burst out from the bathhouse.

…

A jolt of searing pain stung Chihiro's left eye.

"Ugh," she gasped, shocked, and put her hand to her eye in the effort to ease it, creating another torrent of white feathers. Pictures. Thousands of them poured into her; she could see them, every bit of their fleeting memories.

…

_"Kamaji?" There was a choked sob of a young woman._

_ "Kamaji?" _

_ It was no use. No matter how many times she called, the dead could not answer. Fresh bullet holes oozing with blood and pus penetrated deep into the eight-armed spirit; it was clearly more than enough to take down a capable spirit as him. The woman took one of his many hands and squeezed it tight; she could not bear for him to die in such a disgraceful state. They were comrades, those who helped each other in the hard times of the bathhouse, always sticking together, watching the back of their companion. There were many times where she wanted to leave the bathhouse, but Kamaji's presence was enough to coax her to endure the hardships just a bit more…and her debts, she owed him much for his help, and now, she could not pay him back._

_ "Rin?" the soft voice of a boy wavered tentatively. He stepped towards her quietly, his green head hung over in sorrow. His hands were smeared with blood, the same streaks of red dirtied the white of his tunic. Whose blood was it? Even he did not know. _

_ "Haku!" Rin turned to him, her eyes flashing with anger at the young river spirit. "How could you leave Kamaji alone like that?" she screamed._

_ Haku flinched at her sharp tone, but did not answer; he stood silently, concentrating on the abstract patterns of the grain on the wooden floor._

_ "Damned brat, look into my eyes!" she continued, now shaking his shoulders violently._

_ He glanced up, then turned away to avoid her eyes, "I'm sorry," he mumbled, quiet but sincere._

_ "Hey Haku," Rin stood up, her voice was cold, so cold that goose bumps crept onto the nape of Haku's thin neck. _

_He looked up at her and met a stare that chilled him to the bone. Then SMACK! His cheek stung red from her overexerted slap, but he refrained from speaking, anything he said would only anger her more. _

"_I thought I could trust you," said Rin, "But how wrong I was." Dishing him another piercing glare, she took up Kamaji's body and prepared to leave._

_ "Rin—," Haku began to protest._

_ "SHUT UP!" she screeched. For a moment she felt guilty for treating him so harshly, just a bit, but he betrayed her trust. _

…

Chihiro blinked. Haku, Rin…Kamaji…they were gone.

"What was that?" she panicked, grabbing onto the blonde boy's skinny arm. What was it that she had just seen?

The lanky boy stood in front of her, unfazed, not responding in any particular manner to her touch or fretful behavior. "Well, what did you see?" he asked.

Chihiro took a deep breath then told him. She told him about Kamaji, his death and his wounds. She spoke of Rin's anger and Haku's sorrow. The bathhouse…she wondered what it had become in the ten years she spent in the human world. Images of Kamaji's limp body, the bullet holes, Rin's tears and the blood bathed Haku flashed in her mind, all of it screamed massacre. A first hand witness differed too much from the limited perspectives of the morsels of information textbooks merely mentioned. On top of that, it was probably a massacre from humans. Bullets. Nowhere in the Spirit World did she find such influences of Western technology.

"You probably saw the past," he concluded, "It was probably through your left eye," he smirked and pointed to his own eye.

Chihiro reached up and laid her fingers gently on her eye, there were no more feathers. "How?" she inquired a bit shakily. The past…this eye could transcend time.

"That crow must have put some of his power into that eye," he said matter-of-factly, "Well, since you're not connected to him in anyway, I really don't know." That was not a lie, at least it was half of the truth. "Oh. I forgot to introduce myself, I'm Haydn Bennett." He had cast the line, now all that's left for her is to take the bait.

Bingo. "It is a pleasure to meet you, my names is Ogino Chihiro, or formerly known as Sen." Sen. Ten years ago, Chihiro had loved that name, which was to the contrary of how she felt about it at the age of twenty. Yubaba had endowed the name "Sen" to her upon their first meeting; it was a name someone else gave to define her, in all honesty, she was Chihiro, not "Sen".

Formerly known as Sen? That means she's been to the Spirit World at least once before, Haydn thought, perhaps that was why the old crow put in such an effort. But the name Sen…where has he heard it before? Sen…Sen…

Haydn racked his brain, trying to remember, but had no such luck. Even though he could not quite recall the history behind that name, there would always be clues around her. Somehow, he just had to pull the right strings, then everything would fall into place.

He peered over the horizon from the direction Chihiro came from. It was that cluster of ancient shops where Kohaku Nigihayami Nushi's tall spirit bathhouse loomed over the rest of the stout buildings. Bathhouse…Sen…he surmised that there was an extremely high chance that she had dwelt in the bathhouse, it was one of the few places a human could survive in such a world.

"Sen…" Haydn pretended to wonder about her name. He thought that his acting it could pass as decent, as long as she remained unaware. "Sen, you're the famous human from Yubaba's bathhouse incident! Were you the one who was in love with Kohaku Nigihayami Nushi?" It could be a stretch, but certainly the word "love" would trigger some type of response (girls are always like that), and that response would be crucial to finding out if she had any relationship with the dragon.

"Love?" Chihiro exclaimed, "My only love is kyudo," she shrugged. "Which is actually pretty sad for an University student, although I totally dig fashionable guys."

Well, that was the worse possible response. "I see, that was only a rumor then. You were very famous for that notion, though I don't know why if it was a false statement," Haydn eyed her vigilantly, really there was not much of a reaction. Pity. He yawned, "I'm tired. Seems like I was wrong. I'm going to get going now, I apologize for taking up so much of your time." Well, he was not very sorry at all. Giving Chihiro one last glance, Haydn turned away then started walking to the opposite end of the little village. He mumbled a string of curses under his breath for seeming so unnatural, all went well until his conclusion. "I'm tired now, and yeah, my bad, bye!" What the hell was he thinking.

"Wait!" Chihiro called out, grabbing Haydn's attention. "Do you know where the entrance to the Human World is?" she laughed nervously.

He turned back to her and said, "Nope, sorry," then kept walking.

"One last question!" Chihiro said again, "Are you a spirit or a human?"

"Who knows." Haydn replied with his signature smirk, then closed his eyes and kept walking.

He was probably a human, most likely, yes; spirits would not approach her so easily without malice in their current hatred for humans because of "that incident". Chihiro watched Haydn as he disappeared over the horizon, eyes wide. What a smooth talker he was; however, she was quite used to it, being around so many silver-tongued classmates in University, although his exiting statement was quite awkward. She was certain that he was trying to get her to spill the beans about something; he currently had the edge for she still had not entirely grasped the situation upon her recent arrival. It was after she told him about her previous identity as "Sen" that there was a small change in his calm disposition. Very small, entirely minute, but lawyers needed to have an eye for detail. There was an incredibly high possibility that she was being interrogated from the very beginning. Chihiro gave him a thumbs up for his work, he was sure smart for his age. It was obvious to her that when she mentioned "Sen", he could not remember exactly the background of her name. To be able to figure out so much in so little time…she had to be careful. Maybe she should have been more wary of her words, "formerly" meant that she has already been to the Spirit World more than once, which equated to some type of previous experience or relationship with spirits. Gah, she wanted to kick herself in the crotch (which was impossible by the way, since Chihiro is a girl) for blurting out that extra piece of information. "Yubaba's bathhouse incident". It was common knowledge that Yubaba was the previous master of the bathhouse, and the phrase "bathhouse incident" is vague enough to pass as anything. Any human who veered into the spirit bathhouse was sure to have come across some type of "incident", and upon hearing that word, it is entirely natural to react to it, thinking that the questioner had pinpointed their previous situation. And the word love, surely he used that to try to stir up some type of reaction. When asked these kinds of prickly questions, most people who were truly in love would reveal their affection through their facial expressions or body language. If they were not in love, people are likely to get defensive and say: "No, he is just a friend", "No way! I wouldn't love the likes of him!", even "It's nothing like that" reveals much about the relationship between two people. "Who's that?" would show that there is no relationship at all. Well, kyudo was her only love anyways, so that worked out quite well, which was "yey!" for her. Lastly, "tengu". That tengu could very possibly be the same one that Haku and Tsukasa were discussing the night before…or the winged man in her previous dream who was an accomplice to murdering humans; woe to those who sought gain through the slaughter of others. But…things were getting interesting. Now she really wondered who was the mastermind behind the miasma; with regards to motives there were high chances that they sought revenge due to the chaos created by the humans, but to sneak under Haku's radar for such an extensive amount of time required a considerable amount intellect. Just who was this twisted avenger? It was unlikely for Haydn to be the felon, exposing himself that early would only lead to his downfall. It had to be someone with power to move many pawns behind the scene. Someone with both power in strength and intelligence, like the tengu, but according to Tsukasa's speech, there was no solid evidence. Arriving at those conclusions, Chihiro itched to dig deeper, maybe she would stay here just a little longer, since she had nothing better to do anyway. She would find the right time to propose assisting in the investigation to Haku and resume in unraveling the secrets of the miasma.

"That's where you were!" an all-too familiar voice mumbled. Haku stood behind her in his human form, his green hair a mess and his expression beyond sour.

"Haku?" Chihiro exclaimed, surprised that he had found her.

"Who else would it be," he said visibly annoyed, his mouth in a frown, "We're heading back," and transformed into his dragon appearance, indicating for her to get onto his back.

Chihiro stepped towards him in hesitation then said, "Is it alright if we walk?" admitting that Haydn's "love" question had left her a bit self-conscious of Haku.

Haku peered at her through his dark eyes then grumbled, "Fine," and resumed his human form. "Why did you leave the bathhouse, didn't I tell you that it is dangerous out here?"

Baffling, that was what Haku's behavior toward Chihiro was like; it was hard for her to tell why he felt so responsible for her well-being. "Sorry, sorry," she said whimsically, clapping her hands together, martial arts style. Although she wanted to return back to the Human World, she was sorry for giving Haku a great inconvenience.

"Since you're alright, let's go."

…

The sharp scent of musky green tea lingered dryly in the air of the tengu's dark room. Loose, black ringlets of hair fell sloppily around the lobes of his ears and his white wings brushed silently against his back; his charcoal grey eye stared ahead with great concentration, the left eye was covered with a patch, on a computer he had taken from the Human World that only operated on his self built machinery and sorcery. He had a faint caramel complexion that was without a bronzed glow due to his lack of exposure to the sun. Appearance-wise, he looked as if he was in his late teens in human years, for he was a bit baby-faced; however, in terms of physical stature, he was probably around his mid twenties. The tengu sat motionless, only sipping tiny amounts of his green tea and occasionally clicking a couple keys, then went back to observing the screen. Haydn should be returning soon; he wondered if the boy had gathered any useful information about Miss Chihiro.

"Raphael." The door to his darkroom opened and a stream of light seeped through the crack. The tengu looked up from his desk and turned to the door where Haydn stood. "It's dark in here."

"Oh." Gently setting his teacup on the table, Raphael stretched out his arms to flick on the far away light switch, "There," he said, sinking back into his chair as light illuminated the room, revealing a disarray of computer gadgets, papers, and spilled tea leaves piled on his desk and on the floor. "My apologies for making you do all the dirty work of informal questioning. I just figured that an eloquent person like you would fetch more of a desirable inquiry then sending a social recluse…that would be me. So, thank you," he plucked a loose feather from his wings, tossed it to the floor and smiled at Haydn. "What did you find out about her?" he asked.

Haydn retold Raphael their entire encounter, from his very first question to his last answer. Raphael just watched him intently, listening, and nodded at every wordy trap he threw at Chihiro.

"In regards to the relationship between Miss Ogino and Kohaku, you've just about reached the conclusion of just about nada. You only found out about her love for the sport kyudo," Raphael took his tea and stirred it with a lone spoon that was abandoned on his desk. "Well, good work anyways. You've figured out so much with only the trifling bits of information I've given to you. Impressive as always." All he said was 'Question a girl named Chihiro', and for Haydn to unearth so much information, it was amazing, although most of it Raphael already knew from reading her past memories beforehand. To put it in plainer words, he had planned it to be a test of Haydn's skill with the benefits of extracting extra information. Especially about the relationship between Kohaku and Chihiro, which could prove beneficial or malevolent to him further in the future, depending on how deep the bond between the two were. If they were teamed together, it could prove as an obstacle with the fact that Kohaku had already set dogs sniffing his tracks a couple years back. It was only child's play to ward them off. Frankly it was disappointing for Kohaku to only have such simple tricks up his sleeve. Apparently one of the dragon's minions had heard from an insane spirit that the root of it all was "the tengu", they should be aware that witnesses are extremely unreliable, and even from a crazed prisoner. Not only was it easy to erase its memory, but he could have mercilessly killed their only witness as well, but that would be too unfair for the victimized spirit. On the other hand, Chihiro being a law student, already succeeded in winning a legitimate case; not only did she succeed in arguing at court, but she singularly compiled the evidence and ground work into a conclusion that led to the victory of the prosecution. He could not allow her to be part of Kohaku's groupies. The more intelligent characters he has under his command, the more troublesome it would be for Raphael, perhaps he was even too late, but nonetheless he felt a rush of excitement, this was when the action truly starts.

"You know Haydn, I've been wondering, as a human, what do you benefit from the destruction of the Human World?" Raphael speculated, taking another sip of his tea.

"You know perfectly well what the reason is," Haydn replied, holding out his hand.

Raphael paused to look him in the eye, all the while mixing the contents of his tea roughly as the spoon clanked noisily inside the ceramic cup. "Fine," he sighed, set down his tea, then carefully unlocked a small chest. He took three gold coins and handed them to Haydn, not before spilling his tea all over his paperwork and keyboard. "Oops," he said. The tea had soaked through his confidential documents and already spread towards his computer. He sighed again and waved his hand nonchalantly; the tea flowed backwards, retracing its streamline path, and lay still in his now upright teacup. Time manipulation. It bothered him to waste magic on what seemed like such trivial matters, but he had to rescue his papers.

Haydn took the coins and shot back, "What I wonder is why you, the most powerful spirit, work under the boss. You could execute all these actions easily by yourself."

"Hmm," Raphael pondered on the though, "I wonder too." He needed the influence of the 'revenge against humans' plan to instigate his own, which Raphael deemed a greater motivation, one that would be improve the state of the Spirit World. He entered a few keys and the letters HAIA popped up on the computer screen. "By the way, I've set up an agency called the Human Annihilation Intelligence Agency, which is based off of the CIA of the United States in the Human World with the purpose of espionage and secret investigations, but not to the exact definition where CIA is limited to foreign affairs and FBI to internal maintenance. All in all, HAIA would be a blend of both internal investigations and convert actions in the 'enemy territory'. The bathhouse." he looked at Haydn, who bore somewhat of an unhappy countenance, "Sorry, perhaps I was a bit inconsiderate." Raphael deleted the 'H.A' of the organization and replaced it with an 'S'. "Spirits Intelligence Agency," he declared with a grin.

"Always a step ahead," Haydn stated while putting the coins in a small red envelope.

"Your actions are quite controversial, you know," Raphael interjected, eyeing the red envelope, "Why don't you just work for the bathhouse instead?"

Haydn slipped the last coin into the pouch silently then said, "You know why," with a smile and left the room.

Raphael stared at his fading shadow for a moment, and then went back to sipping his tea, savoring every bit of it. Today it tasted much better for some reason.

…

Chihiro left the bathhouse through the backdoor into the wake of the night, leaving the great clamor of the washing spirits; several days had passed since her arrival, and she had become accustomed to the night hours of spirit activities. Wispy blossoms on rows of thick of bushes opened their sheer dusty petals to create almost a surreal pathway of glowing colors that led to a greater garden of flowers. Yubaba's broken down pigsty lay just beyond the beauty, filled with dreaded memories Chihiro would be more than willing to forget. Taking a red paper lantern, Chihiro slid on her sandals, only to find that rain had soaked her pink cleaning suit through the moment she stepped outside. She quickly ran back into the building to grab an umbrella, passing by a frog attendant.

"Are you on break, Ogino-san?" he called out. A few nights ago, Haku had explained Chihiro's presence in the Spirit World to all of his employees and guests in the bathhouse at the moment; he ended with a threat that she was under his responsibility and whosoever attacked her would face his wrath. His statement had saved her much trouble of dealing with the spirits herself; some of them remembered her and remained quite friendly while others still regarded her with hate and discrimination. She needed to thank him later though.

"Yeah," Chihiro said as she ran past him and took an umbrella, then sauntered outside humming "One Summer's Day" and drumming her fingers along her thigh to the beat.

Upon returning outside, Chihiro hoisted her umbrella over her shoulder and went over to smell a pale pink flower. She prepared to lean over then stopped as a potential sneeze itched at her nose then faded away into the deep fragrance of the clusters of florets. "You guys smell so good," Chihiro whined to the flower playfully, squeezing her eyes shut and shaking her fist, "But you give me allergies! Ahh…" she giggled softly to herself then quickly brought it to an end. The sharp prick of a stare hit her head and Chihiro stood still, wide-eyed. There was definitely someone watching her, although she did not know whom it was from, but she certainly did not feel Haku or Tsukasa's presence in those piercing eyes. Hatred? No. Even so, the stare felt relentless, perhaps with some twisted motivation and a dash of urgency. Her eyes drifted to the verdant field underneath her foot, a shadow of an unidentifiable shape crept towards her; Chihiro spun around quickly, her back against the bushes, and held fast to her umbrella, only to see no one behind her.

…

"You damned dog let me go!" a crazed black cat hissed at Tsukasa. The fiery cage singed her fur every time she clawed at it, and when her fur burned, it spread the fetid scent of rusty human blood that clung to her paws and lips. "It's because of traitorous spirits like you, this world has sunk to such a state! Why do you side with the humans?" she screeched, eyes spinning.

"Side with the humans?" the fox repeated, his attention concentrated on licking his wound. It sure took a while to subdue that mad cat. "I don't side with humans, but I don't believe that the works of the spirits are right either," he turned and looked her straight in the eye.

"Then WHY? Why did you betray us? Wh—," she paused midway and tore at her face, her nails sunk under her thick fur and ripped gashes in her delicate skin.

Tsukasa sighed; it was far too late, even Haku's purification abilities could not stabilize her state of mind now. "Miss," he said, "The world wishes to be at equilibrium. Both worlds crave an impossible peace. But that peaceful balance can never be achieved, so instead it settles for 'an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a life for a life.' I would say, that's a fair exchange, isn't it?" Tsukasa concluded with a sarcastic smile.

"You!" the cat shrieked in anger.

"_You_ should stop struggling," Tsukasa stated candidly, "You are only wasting your energy on those futile efforts of escape," he sighed again. "Come now, perhaps it is only fair to hope that Haku can still fix your dismal state," Tsukasa took the cage by the mouth and felt the heat of his fire course through his body. "Let's go."

…

A/N:

Note~ For any of readers who are like "? It says 'romance' but where the heck is the romance?"

Yes, in the "genre" categories "romance" is one of them. Yes, I will put some cute tidbits here and there (I ship Haku and Chihiro, but I guess that can be susceptible to change? Haha. Probably not though, well, who knows.), but…dude. If you are expecting any major expressions of love or some glorious confessions any time soon, gotta' say, not happening. First things first. Chihiro and Haku are not ready to be in a relationship. As of now, rather than kiss Chihiro (or anything else), Haku would rather kill himself, Chihiro would probably barf, and Tsukasa would laugh and blackmail Haku for fun. (Why are all my protagonists so immature? WHY? Lol.) What would the antagonists due? Thanks for asking. Haydn would probably do nothing and Raphael would try to mess with their relationship and turn them on each other. What would Rin do (currently in the "un-sided" category)? She would probably murder Haku. I think relationships take time to develop, so it will come as the story unfolds. Right now Chihiro and Haku don't know each other that well yet, it has been ten long years! Second of all, I think that TOO much drama about "emotions" and stuff will probably ruin the plot line.

Sorry if this disappoints any of you, but I hope you liked Chapter 3! This one took a while~

Read and Review! Yey!

**reference to "One Summer's Day" from Spirited Away.


	4. Indefinite Fate

A/N:

Note! Time in the story flows relatively chronologically, but sometimes scenes overlap or "happen a bit before/after". Also, I changed chapter titles so they weren't as constraining:)

Read until the end or else you'll miss out on some interesting things, ho ho ho (ho as in the Santa laugh, if you were wondering lol).

Ah, late update! Sorry, sorry~

Chapter IV

Indefinite Fate

_"People were created to be loved._

_Things were created to be used._

_The reason why the world is in CHAOS..._

_..is because things are being loved, and people are being used."_

Chihiro heaved a sigh of relief, and then came to the realization that she was soaked through. In one hand she held tightly onto the drooping paper umbrella and in the other she had a fist full of young leaves from when she slammed her back against the bush. Sharp drops of rain pierced through Chihiro's clothes and chilled her to the bone; grey woolen clouds seemed to mourn for the corruption of the Spirit World, their tears beating against her relentlessly, blaming her for the World's rotten disposition. The voice of the skies thundered and crackled, sending echoes of fury from the dark haze. The trees and bushes shook violently, throwing their branches wildly into the air and whipping blades of leaves into the night sky. Weather like this was the worst. The squall only reminded her of despair and hopelessness, the feelings she had when she fell to the wet ground and finally understood that she truly held no power. Like the time Rin must have felt as Kamaji lay dead in her arms. In that sense they were the same, both of them exposed to the effects of wicked acts. But it is possible, for there was only one thing that defined humans. Personal ambition. It was the drive behind the noble and the poor, behind all people of different ethnicity, religion, and culture. How else were things such as great scientific discoveries found and civilization itself created? Ambition accelerates development, yet is often used so wrongly. Desire is not only limited to humans, but also relevant for the spirits, who were driven by revenge to commit unacceptable acts of murder towards innocent civilians. Chihiro stared at the sky and let it pound on her fair face, for a brief moment she could not tear her eyes from the turmoil but then resumed to normalcy. She clapped her hands together and said, "Concentrate!" and decided to return to the bathhouse to prevent catching a cold. It would be a waste of time to just brood over the past; she had already decided to look forward and focus. Still, easier said then done.

Slowly making her way back and stepped through the back door, shivering; her pink outfit was frozen and stuck fast to her skin, and her feet left a trail of clear water as she made trudged along the wooden floor. She turned around the corner of the corridor to enter her new room, which she shared with Rin along with a handful of other working ladies. There were many instances where she swore they were sabotaging her on purpose, but she had to tolerate it for the sake of peace in the bathhouse. She softly slid the door open and met face to face with an airborne towel.

"Here's a towel," came the voice of the one who threw the towel. It was Rin.

Rin must have seen her outside in the rain. Chihiro watched her for a moment then took the towel and replied with a soft, "Thanks." She couldn't hate her. Kamaji's death must have been sudden and unfulfilling, leaving Rin hanging on a thin string, sad and alone. This was a woman whose appearance and disposition reflected the trauma the Spirit World wouldn't forget, but perhaps because of this, Chihiro felt that she could understand their hearts a little better. Her heart too held onto various anguishes; she even ran along the path of law to deliver what she considered the pinnacle of justice. Only through her own hands could the works of corruption be revealed, no one could do it but her. But in the end, time cannot heal wounds; it could only make them hurt less.

"I'm sorry," Rin muttered.

Chihiro paused and took the now wet towel off her face. "Excuse me?" she asked tentatively; she was confused at what Rin was apologizing towards.

"Well," she started, "The other night." The ashamed woman wrung her hands together and quietly continued, "It was not my place to insult the human race in such a manner."

Oh. _That_. Chihiro closed her eyes. There were so many questions and sardonic comments she could throw at Rin, so many things she could say to ease her frustration and prove her worthiness. Instead, she chose none of the above. "It's alright," Chihiro replied with a small smile. Slowly she would work to ease the denouncing words that once burned against her. She heaved a deep sigh and stretched; there was certain light-heartedness about her decision that was utterly relieving.

"Sen," Rin looked up at her with a pleased grin and ran up to hug her. That Sen would forever amaze her.

…

The rain eased into a light drizzle as the thunderous clouds lifted and sailed away; a weary grey still lay overcast above, but the past vehement turmoil had long dissipated. Just like her heart. Chihiro put her hand over her chest and sniffed, then giggled to herself as she peered out a window. Life was always sprinkled with cheesy Hollywood worthy moments, one just had to enjoy them from time to time.

"Ogino!" a voice called to her with a sense of urgency.

"Yes!" Chihiro called back, swiveling around quickly.

A frog-faced _aniyaku_ attendant hopped over to her and slapped a grocery list into her hand, "Go buy the stuff on this list."

Chihiro looked at him questionably then took the list of produce and skimmed over it, "Isn't this your job?" She handed back the slip of paper.

The aniyaku puffed his chest with arrogance and stared at her with a contemptuous gaze. "I," he began with a hoarse croak, "Have an important guest to attend to, you know. And," he snorted and revealed a snide grin, "He _loathes_ humans. So. Run along now, little girl."

"Hey, pompous toad." A shrill voice cut through the silence in which Chihiro stood, dumbfounded by the aniyaku's rudeness that was yet the logic of the Spirit World.

"Oh, mistress Rin," frog-face lowered his head and fiddled with his thumbs, "What is it?"

Rin marched over, her loose kimono trailing at her ankles, "Do your own job," she commanded and flicked him in the forehead.

Frog-face held his forehead and leered. He thoroughly enjoyed jabbing at people's insecurities. "_Master _Haku said I have a guest to attend to," he retorted, rubbing his forehead, "Now, if you'll excuse me," the spirit concluded huffily and bounded away.

Just the sound of that name made her blood boil and her stomach turn. The title! _Master. _How unsuitable. No one could be less worthy of that title than him. "Ugh!" Rin groaned, "_Master_ Haku huh? He doesn't know anything about managing the bathhouse!" she roared and kicked a dent in the bamboo wall then said, "Sorry about that Sen."

"No, I'll go buy the groceries. I wanted to go outside anyways," Chihiro shrugged with a tad of lingering cautiousness towards Rin's outburst. "Thanks." She scooped up a wicker basket along with her umbrella and hurried out the bathhouse.

…

No-Face stood statue like by red gate railings of the short wooden arch. Mild winds sprinkled with dainty droplets streamed by, as he stood wet with Zeniba's seal. Faint creaks begged him to step off the bridge, but he persisted; he must wait patiently, for he had already missed many given opportunities. Sen will come, just like the very first day they met.

And there she was, sauntering towards the bridge with a steady umbrella overhead and a basket at her arm, giggling jovially as the rain pushed past the umbrella and hit her face. Chihiro turned to look over a slip of paper as she hopped onto the bridge and murmured a few words until she crashed into him. She fell backwards with a thud and dropped her basket and umbrella onto the bridge and groaned. Reaching for the railing, she pulled herself up then met No-Face's masked eyes and stood a gasp, which was quickly followed by a shriek.

Upon her realization she calmed down and said, "Sorry, that kinda freaked me out just now. " Chihiro paused, and then raised an eyebrow at the black spirit, "…No-Face? How long have you been standing out here? You must be frozen!" she exclaimed. It had been long since she reunited with her old friend. A wave of contentment washed over her, it was the feeling of gladness of seeing a familiar face in a foreign land. "Here," she took her umbrella and held it over him as the rain drip onto her shivering shoulders. No-Face too was cold and shivering; she couldn't leave him being wet alone while she enjoyed the perks of staying dry under an umbrella.

"Uh, uh," No-Face replied.

Soft, tender droplets of rain brushed over her shoulders lightly and left small traces of their presence as faint wet spots on her shirt. Chihiro gave No-Face a sideways glance and a sprightly grin, "Don't worry, I actually really like the rain. Everything about rain was so refreshing. Water is cohesive, gentle, ever flowing forward, and the source of life." She closed her eyes and reached up to the sky, " 'Let it wash away all your worries'," she paused and knit her brows with a dark stare, then resumed her speech, flapping her arms at her side, "Besides, that's not even enough to repay you for the hair-tie," Chihiro pointed at her ponytail, "I'm not superstitious and all, but I'm always more lucky with this baby on."

…

Haku sighed and massaged his temples. Just as he was at the height of discussing business matters with their esteemed guest Rin barged in and demanded that he go fetch poor Chihiro from outside due to the possibility of catching a cold after shopping in the attendant's place. The guest got up and excused himself, saying that they would chat another time, but he knew that the negotiations had failed. No one would help an establishment that "couldn't control its own employees". Nothing was going right in the bathhouse these days; the employees all stood divided on their outlook towards humans thus influencing their morals and perceptions of each other. Sometimes it was impossible to get their cooperation and other times he just wanted to strangle those money-loving, brainless attendants of his. He took an umbrella that leaned along side the wall and headed outdoors. The rain dusted over him lightly like heaps of feathers and slicked tufts hair unto his cheeks; Haku pushed open the umbrella and saw Chihiro speaking to a _Kaonashi_ at the edge of a bridge. Chihiro flung her arms out and freely drenched herself in the open rain. That was exactly how she would catch a cold.

…

Chihiro shivered. Previously gentle breezes chilled into biting gusts of wind that nipped at her wet shoulders and forced their way through the flimsy pink cotton of her shirt. She was tempted to join No-Face under her umbrella but decided against it, for the umbrella's brim was only wide enough for one person. Rubbing her arms violently, she gazed up at the sky to only see a fat grey cloud up top and the trailing sapphire sky miles behind. Chihiro sighed again before looking back up again; instead of the woolen drear, she found the rain pattering away on an umbrella over her head. For a moment she puzzled over that fact, she had an umbrella in her hand…and there was also an umbrella over her head…she knew it, there was absolutely no mistake in her deductions. In the Spirit World there were flying unicorns that farted rainbows and had a special ability of duplicating funky objects right on the spot. This would be the all-conclusive reason behind the theory of the Doppelganger Umbrellas. Kidding. Chihiro turned around to face the beholder of the mysterious umbrella and was surprised, but not at all shocked or amazed. It was Haku. He stood at least a foot behind her, hair plastered to his thin face and his arm outstretched with an umbrella in hand towards her. As usual, his lips were pursed into a slight frown and his sharp green eyes stared back at her. Anyone could tell, just from the looks of his eyes, that this was a person of great ambition. Perhaps it was more than Chihiro ever had, even as she worked on the court case, driven by justice; perhaps Haku's sense of justice was stronger, for he stood firm between the wavering morals of the Human and Spirit World.

"What?" Haku grumbled as Chihiro just gawked at him, wide-eyed.

"Uh," Chihiro stammered at his sudden interjection, "Thanks," she concluded.

A hint of awkwardness draped over the trio, which was only prolonged with Haku's flat response. He just gave a small nod, handed her the umbrella, and joined under on his own accord; he then turned his attention to No-Face, who stood to the side quietly. "Did you make a new friend while grocery shopping?" he asked, glancing towards No-Face in a deadpan manner.

"Huh? Oh! This is No-Face, we're old companions," Chihiro replied; she completely forgot that he was there. "Here, keep the umbrella," she thrust her umbrella into the spirit's hand. "I forgot I had to do some grocery shopping, let's talk again next time. Later," smiling, Chihiro waved goodbye then groaned as she turned to read the grocery list, which had long became wet with words that smeared into streaks and blots of black ink.

Haku creased his brows together at the sight of the soppy wet grocery list and the absence of the groceries that were supposed to be purchased half an hour ago. Snatching the list from Chihiro's hand, he ran his fingers along the sodden parchment and drew out a couple large droplets of water that were suspended as formless beads in the air. In a sudden childish urge, Haku flicked the globules at Chihiro's forehead with enough force to leave a slight sting. Which was quite an amount of force considering lightweight of water droplets.

Pricks of water hit her, leaving a faint tingling sensation blended with a refreshing chill. Chihiro flinched and sputtered, "What was that for?" She wiped her hand across her forehead hastily and frowned.

Haku gave her a stolid stare then cracked a mischievous grin. "You're too slow, let's get going," he said, and started towards the tidy rows of small scarlet gabled bazaar.

"Right," Chihiro replied involuntarily and ran a few steps until she was following close behind him, leaving No-Face standing alone on the bridge.

They were leaving! The seal Zeniba administered to him still flushed a golden bronze in his dark hands under the dismal skies. He couldn't afford to miss the perfect chance again. No-Face gripped the signet tightly and bellowed, "UH!"

Chihiro and Haku turned back, both startled by his unexpected roar.

"What…what is it?" Chihiro mumbled.

No-Face unfurled his clenched fist and revealed the mighty seal. In names there is great power; it is the identity of the hidden gift inside a person. "This is yours," he murmured, pushing the seal towards Chihiro. Glimmers of gold splayed off as rays of sunshine hit its flat edge, casting an iridescent glow on the bridge floor. Gold is pure. Gold cannot tarnish. Gold is forever.

Chihiro stood speechless; that was the same little tripped out stamp that nearly killed Haku before. "Cool…" she muttered in confusion and turned to Haku, who stood wide-eyed but said nothing. A flurry of contradictory thoughts hit him at once. Having the seal could greatly aide their investigation of the miasma; no, having the seal could almost guarantee their success at hand. With its powers they may even be able to stop the "powerful tengu" who appears to indirectly manipulate the spirits into corrupted, man-eating fools. Victory seemed to drop right into his hands; it felt so close, he could almost taste it. Yet he could not urge Chihiro to take it. Who knew what kind of dangers she would be exposed to with its potent power. The seal was a double-edged sword, only a skillful wielder could bring forth its greatest potential. If it is used wrongly, the effects could be devastating.

Clouds of confusion faded quickly from Chihiro's mind and were almost instantly replaced with an opportunistic mentality. This could be the key. It was a seal that even Yubaba coveted; its power must be beyond amazing. If she had this, Haku and Tsukasa would not be able to refuse her help, even though she was human. With this, she could reform the Spirit World and preserve the Human World. This power might, just might, be able to protect her small world filled with her loved ones and the memories of her home. Perhaps it can even save thousands of lives. And maybe, she could discover the reason behind this whole case. She glanced over at Haku; he was probably thinking the very same thing. Good.

"Thanks," Chihiro beamed, eagerly reaching for the seal.

No-Face suddenly closed his fist again and coughed up a mass of black gunk into his free hand, surprising Chihiro and grossing her out at the same time. He took the seal and rubbed the stamp into the dark slime. Gently, he lifted it up and beckoned Chihiro to come closer.

Resisting the urge to scrunch her nose in aversion, Chihiro reminded herself to be careful not to make any offensive expressions. She approached the enthusiastic No-Face hesitantly, eyeing his handful of hacked up goo. No-Face made an indication for her to lift up her bangs, and she obeyed, still a bit puzzled with his intentions. Suddenly No-Face took the seal and stamped it on her forehead forcefully, making it throb.

"The power of Zeniba is now yours," he mumbled and gave her the seal. Zeniba's powers were now endowed to her by the mark of the witch's name. With her name Chihiro would be able to use the full range of Zeniba's abilities, but he would not tell her so. Too much power can corrupt anyone. Now, she could save this world.

She could feel her insides bubbling with excitement and her fingertips hot with determination. Truly, she was grateful for the window of opportunity that would be more worthwhile than anything she's ever done before. "Thank you," Chihiro said with entire sincerity and bowed, "and I give my thanks to Zeniba as well."

"Uh," No-Face grumbled and returned the bow. His part was done.

"Well then, Haku and I need to get going, so let's meet up again," she continued, "You can visit us anytime you want at the bathhouse. While you're at it, taking a refreshing herbal soak!" she laughed at her advertisement-sounding invitation, "Anyways, just drop by whenever you're free." Then she turned to Haku, "Should we get the groceries now?"

"Yes," Haku replied uncertainly and the two headed towards the shop. No-Face watched them leave and waved back as Chihiro turned around to give him a warm smile and a friendly wave. "Stay safe!" she said.

…

Although none of the three noticed, the rain above began to clear just before No-Face presented the seal. The clouds broke apart, uncovering the azure sky, leaving a trail of white spots that ascended to the heavens beyond them. Rin saw them and smiled; her heart was alleviated from the weight of her prejudiced judgment that was wrongly aimed towards Chihiro. Chihiro was a friend, probably the only one she could trust in the bathhouse. She then silently apologized to her for using her name to sabotage Haku's meeting, but necessity knows no bonds. The time was now, and the power was meant to be hers.

…

"Next, cucumbers," Haku read aloud as he mentally checked off the things they bought.

"Okay," Chihiro replied in a singsong voice and reached into the bin of green vegetables and pulled out a cucumber. "Woah, look at this man," she marveled at the perfectly shaped cucumber. "This is like the ideal cucumber that every baby cucumber dreams to be," she said, making showcasing gestures at the vegetable.

Haku looked at the cucumber and then looked back at Chihiro. "Just put it in the basket," he instructed matter-of-factly. Sometimes he didn't understand her; her constant smile was sincere and infectious, but her black eyes reflected a harbored, intense ambition laced with a thirst for knowledge. When No-Face revealed Zeniba's seal, he could see those tiny manifestations in her subtle reactions.

"You wish you were as beautiful as this cucumber," Chihiro retorted jokingly. Haku was often too straight-laced (when he wasn't annoyed), so it was kind of entertaining to poke fun at him.

He scowled, "No, I don't."

"Relax, you're taking this too seriously." She dropped the cucumber into the basket.

Haku glared at her.

His jade eyes narrowed and silently bore two words. "Damn you." They were then promptly relaxed when it seemed that his message was conveyed. "These are for _futomaki_," he said.

"Great! Sushi is delicious." Chihiro loved rice products in general, and sushi was exceptional. The rice, fish, and seaweed came together in perfect harmony and created such an incredible delicacy. It was just such a nice combo.

"It is also good for the health," Haku added before looking back at the list.

…

The little message icon on the computer screen blinked red; Raphael lounged idly in his chair and opened it in no hurry. He leaned forward in his seat while reading the frank memo and nearly spat out a mouth full of green tea. Settling back into his chair, he forced down the gulp of tea and reached for his office's wireless phone. Well, that was rather unexpected, but then again, that's what life was made up of. He quickly dialed Haydn's number at waited impatiently for him to pick up. It was a change in plans, but everything would still be within his calculations. Quite an arrogant thought, nevertheless, it was.

"Hello?" A muffled reply came from the other end.

"This is Raphael," the tengu replied, meddling with one of his angelic feathers, "How are you doing?"

"Fine," came Haydn's candid response, "What's the news?" There must have been something significant, for Raphael to disrupt him from toying around with the machinery. That is, unless he was feeling awfully whimsical that day, but those were incredibly slim chances. This world would have gone mad by now if Raphael was just plain dilly-dallying with the phone that took approximately forever for him to set up.

"Right to the point, hm? That's one of my favorite traits of yours." Raphael said with an impish grin.

There was a weighty pause. "That sounded gross."

"It was just a statement from a doting father." The age gap between them was far too big for the two to be brothers, so he decided on father, even though the true relation was probably something like great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather. Each human generation is approximately twenty-five years, which was nothing compared to how long he's lived, although he was still young in terms of spirit age. Raphael gave up counting the number of greats after seven. The human life is like a mist; it shows up for a little while, then fades away and is forgotten. But he and Haydn had a bond; a bond that time can never sever. The two got along well, though Haydn would never willingly admit it; in contrast to Raphael, who thought of himself as past that touchy adolescent stage.

"There's no way in hell you are my father."

Raphael pretended to cringe, "Ouch," he said, "Anyways," he took a hearty sip of green tea, "I'm sending you to the bathhouse."

"…Pardon?" Bathhouse? Why bathhouse? Haydn though he must have heard wrong.

"You know the saying 'Keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer'?" The old witch still had a trick up her sleeve, huh? That's quite all right; he'll just return the favor two fold. "Well, Chihiro has received Zeniba's seal," Raphael concluded solemnly.

A/N: Erm, I hope that was interesting to you:) Tell me what you think about the plot and/or the characters through my inbox or as a review! I would love to know. Character arc is a MUST for me by the way. I just love characterization, but I still have quite a lot of things to learn about it. If any of you watched Avatar the Last Airbender you know what I'm talking about (raddest show in the world. watched all 3 seasons in 5 days. Yeahh, that's where it's at). Zuko. Greatest cartoon character on the face of the planet (I love the rest of Team Avatar too, but Zuko just tops it off). So, I'm going to update the chapter now, or else I'll rant about it forever (I did at 6 flags with a bunch of my buds…so I kinda have life. Lol.), bye!


	5. Lotus Bud

A/N:

Hey guys! Late update, sorry:(

Yeah, so I'm a senior now (yippee!), and OH MY GOODNESS. The teachers got cracking on things so early that I have so little time to work on my college application stuff. I think it just takes some time to adjust from summer mode to the life of academia, so when I get the hang of things the updates will be much faster!

Anyways, here's chapter five, and hope you like it!

Chapter V:

Lotus Bud

_"Nothing brings people together more, then mutual hatred."_

_-Henry Rollins_

Human consumption or not, it was still murder as long as the mind wished for death. _Mens rea_: guilty mind. He knew and she knew. Actually, he himself never killed a human before or even hurt the tiniest hair on their fragile bodies. They were such driven creatures, dreaming to overcome the impossible, yet they were so weak. With one wrong turn, the ground underneath them blossoms red. All life is precious, for both spirits and humans. But hatred fuels extremist acts, and he failed to take those actions into consideration, which was poor foresight on his part. During the first month he though he would've gone mad, his stomach was full of knots and his mind raced; he approved of their hatred and they killed. In order for the spirits to unite under a common cause, in order to improve the Spirit World community, he couldn't pass up the opportunity. Fair is foul and foul is fair. Later he would go to the Human World and send their souls away in peace. It was the very least he could do.

Raphael clicked his black pen against his chest and grabbed a scratch sheet of paper; he stuck one ear bud in his left and hummed to the popular motif of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. Right now they had the edge. In small scribbly writing (Haydn often complained that it looked like chicken scratch) he simply wrote _'The Plan'_ on the top line. The current flow of events worried him a bit; the reappearance of Zeniba's seal was largely unanticipated, and it certainly posed a formidable threat. In terms of power, he was no longer unrivaled. He bit his thumbnail and drummed his fingers against the desk. That reminded him of the time he found Chihiro asleep and stranded near the entrance of the Spirit World; he couldn't send her back or kidnap her because she was under some sort of protective spell. The source seemed to be a hair-tie that smelled faintly of the witch and a large spirit...probably the Kaonashi. He was only able to unlock the gate of her memories with a seal that drew a bridge between their thoughts, but he managed to dupe the spell with a seal over his left eye to close his memories. Now he felt quite satisfied with that move; it became all the easier to predict her future movements through seeing fragments of her past. _'Advantage number one: seal'_ he jotted down quickly. Organization was key.

Next he wrote the words _'Chihiro, Kaonashi, and Zeniba'_. He drew a dual-ended arrow from Zeniba to the Kaonashi and from the Kaonashi to Chihiro. From the latter report, it seemed that Chihiro received the seal from the large black spirit. Get rid of the go-between and Zeniba's interference would be further limited. Raphael crossed out the Kaonashi's name; the witch would finally need to reveal herself once and for all.

"Raphael." Light flooded into the dark room, first seeping through a crack then easing in as the door opened wide. Raphael scribbled away at his last idea then laid his pen down and regained a more stable composure. Now…it was time for tea!

"Come in," he said nonchalantly as he knocked a can of tealeaves against his desk. The last bits of the scrumptious green tea were glued to the bottom, far from his reach, so loosening them was his best bet. He didn't want to be too desperate and pick them out with the tip of his pen.

Haydn stepped in the room, "You are being too rash. If everything is rushed, we will make many careless mistakes, and we cannot afford to do so," said he.

"Rash," Raphael repeated as he bumbled over to the hot water boiler. "_I_ am being rash." The boiler hummed monotonously as the water poured into his cup in a perpetual stream.

"Yes."

The hot water ran until it reached the half waypoint of the cup and was switched for cold water to fill the rest of the cup. "Well," the tengu eyed him doubtingly and took a sip. All of his plans were already formulated, the timing, the big picture. Details will be more flexible: paper-perfect organization never works in real life. "Tell me, how so?"

"Chihiro just received the seal, right?"

"Correct."

"If we just 'visit' the bathhouse in moments right after she obtained the seal, don't you think that will draw suspicion on us?" Haydn reasoned.

Raphael paused. "That's a plausible argument," he mused, then held up his cup and offered, "Tea?" That was an incredibly good argument; the stark response to his actions laid overlooked, right under his nose. After all, Kohaku already labeled him as a suspect, due to what a crazed spirit blurted out, but that was no solid proof. It was a crazed spirit and Raphael was well known throughout the Spirit World. No conclusion should be drawn by such a subjective piece of information, but if he approached them now, a shadow of suspicion would be cast upon him. Perhaps he really was in a rush. It would be fun to challenge Chihiro, but the sooner he got this over with, the better.

Haydn took the offer and was handed a can of nearly empty tealeaves; he peered in and sighed. Carefully, he shook the remaining leaves into his mug and filled it to the top with hot water. He liked his tea piping hot, although he preferred black tea to green tea, but he was growing on to the taste of the slight plant dominant undertone. "What's the plan then?" he asked, standing next to Raphael.

Better safe than sorry, he had to surrender to logic. "Let's wait a bit," was the decision. "Say," Raphael added, turning the conversation on a tangent, "Can you play Beethoven's Fifth Symphony?"

"I think I can recall some, if not most, of it," he said, going over the fingerings on his forearm, "Though I prefer Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto." As a child he was sickly, so all he did was play violin from dawn to dusk; it was both his panacea and greatest weapon. He coughed.

…

Thick, black mists enveloped the _kitsune_ as he trudged through the desolate forest. Jagged spikes of undergrowth obstructed the path and their emerald leaves rattled at their touch. The canopy was more spacious as the trees were not crowded in to each other, allowing the silver moonlight to spill onto the dirt-clotted ground.

"Oh, wise kitsune, why do you abandon us? Why do you side with the humans?" whispered the hollow voice in the miasma.

"Ha ha!" the cat cackled, "They agree with me." She smirked and toyed with the coils of mist that protruded the burning cage.

The cage grew heavier by the second, like iron weights that acted as a muzzle. Tsukasa set it down gently then opened and closed his mouth a number of times to make sure his jaw was still fully intact. It was.

"Why do you ignore us so?" the miasma inquired, "Could it be? You love the humans!" It gave a loud static snap and crackled angrily as it doled its judgment.

If it snapped, crackled, _and_ popped, Tsukasa would've thought it was a chokokurisupi*wannabewho didn't have quite the right image down. He heaved a sigh. "It is a matter of my morals," he replied.

"Morals?" the ghastly mist cooed, "It is the humans that are wrong, look at this place, they destroyed it. And your family, because of the humans' actions, they suffered the consequences for them. Your sister too was devoted into saving them, but was it worth her life?" Tsukasa glowered but the miasma continued, "Your morals aren't worth the losses, are they. It hurts, I know, but I can show you a better solution." It caressed his golden fur and whispered into his ear, "Avenge them. Kill the humans."

A hurricane of fire spun out from Tsukasa's mouth and set the mist into a sea of flames, cleansing the area of its evil. Wings of oranges, pinks, and red swathed its victim, leaving only a trail of cinders as it ate heartily with tongues of blistering heat. As its charcoal ashes scattered through the wind it screeched, "WHY?! WHY?!"

"Because you talk too much," Tsukasa answered and he watched the fire die away as nothing was left to burn.

…

A family of _Shishi _dressed in after-bath _yukatas_, following a servant _yuna_, stared at Chihiro as they walked past. She was hanging from the edge of a large black tub, scrubbing vigorously at a year's worth of crusty slime. All the muck stuck to the brush and her fingernails reeked of rotten eggs. At least she was somewhat concealed by an ornamented shoji screen. Seriously, she wasn't cool with that good-for-nothing _aniyaku_; he was the worst out of all of her superiors. She needed to find a paper bag and scream in it. Or lantern.

"This again?"

Chihiro looked up. It was Rin. She stood in her salmon pink working clothes with a mop propped over her shoulder, it was a familiar sight; Chihiro felt a bit embarrassed for needing her help again ten years later. "Thanks," she said with a smile.

"No problem, two is faster than one," Rin replied and attacked the slime head on.

After a good hour or two of scrubbing, the tub was finally clean, and it left Chihiro and Rin with weary arms_._ Chihiro eyed the bathtub and swore it sparkled under the bright lighting; it was a job well done.

"Uh," Rin groaned at the sight of her soiled hands, "I'm going to take a bath, see you Sen." She left.

"Later," said Chihiro. Her nose practically begged for a shower, but she needed to find Haku.

A burgundy elevator sat in the corner of the room, long unused due to its lack of presence, caught Chihiro's eye. Lucky! She quietly slid in and punched in the floor level; thankfully she did not have to walk out in public with this terrible stench. The elevator inched upwards and rattled to a stop, the red wood trembling out of neglect. The doors pulled open and Chihiro hopped out, quickly making her way to Haku's office, but she stopped at the entrance. Muffled bits of a secret conversation just barely escaped the screen doors, though she couldn't completely make out the sentences. Again she paused, it would be rude of her to listen in on a private conversation; so instead, she distracted herself by mentally rehearsing her arguments.

"Master Haku, I will give you my full support."

"Thank you," Haku replied, looking straight at the old river spirit with an earnest gaze.

The spirit continued despairingly, "It has gone too far, the worlds are beginning to meld together. The humans are not destroying this world, we are."

Haku nodded.

"Therefore I give you my full support," the spirit handed him a porcelain whistle, "Use this to call me if you need help."

"Thank you," said Haku yet again, he took the whistle and examined the three prudently bored holes on the surface of the clay.

"Then I shall take my leave," the old spirit shifted its attention to the door, "You have another guest, I hope she is not a spy," it whispered.

"She is not," he said matter-of-factly, "You have no need to worry."

"I certainly hope you are right." It bowed then drifted away; as he passed Chihiro, the spirit remembered, "Hello little one, you sure have grown."

Chihiro gave him a questionable look, then bowed, "Thank you."

The river spirit nodded. She must be the one Zeniba was expecting; hopefully this madness would soon be resolved.

Chihiro marched into Haku's room, "Good evening, I have something important to discuss."

Haku sighed. He had long anticipated this conversation. "Alright," he said, "But first things first. Go take a bath."

"What?"

"Bath. Shower. Whatever it is, clean yourself."

"But I…"

"_GO_," he ordered; he wouldn't be able to discuss seriously if she smelled like that. Well, in truth, that was not the key reason for the need of her departure.

Smell or not, the discussion was by far more of an urgent matter than showering. However, she surrendered without a fight. "Fine," Chihiro retorted dispiritedly. She was in no mood to immerse herself in a pointless quarrel; she got up reluctantly and closed the door behind her.

The answer would be no. Haku would not let her join their task force. It would be too dangerous for Chihiro to jump on the case; a seemingly trivial blunder may lead to life or death. This was the Spirit World, there was so much she did not know and so much she had not seen. It would be the best for her not to dabble into those murky waters; it was for her own safety. The seal would grant them gifts in power to face the tengu, but they could win in different ways. They would uproot the enemies' schemes one by one; he did not need the seal.

"Can I come in now?" a singsong voice called from outside the window.

"Oh. Ikumi," said Haku as he continued with his paper work, "Come in."

A petite lady slipped in from the behind the windowsill; her ebony black hair hung at her neck in a sharp bob and she wore a black _kimono_ that barely grazed at mid-thigh. "Don't mind if I do," she said.

"Do you have something to report?" Haku continued as he signed another paper and dipped his brush into the inkpot.

"I do," Ikumi replied; she sat herself across from him and propped her elbow onto the table. "It's good news and bad news…all in one."

Good news? Good news was always disappointing these days. "What is it?" Haku asked a bit impatiently, it seemed as if she was toying with him.

She laughed. Ah, couldn't resist, it always was amusing to tease him a bit. Bad habits sure are hard to get rid of, pity. "Now, don't get too excited," said Ikumi, "I found Tsubasa."

A tremor of surprise and delight made him drop his brush. Haku looked up at her wide-eyed. "You…you found Tsubasa?" She had been missing for a few years now, and finally, they found her. Tsukasa would be ecstatic.

"Yup," Ikumi assured him. Bounty hunter, secret agent, any of those titles would work. Earlier in the year Haku hired her to infiltrate the tengu's territory. "She was working for the tengu. I already had my suspicions, so I fabricated friendships with a few "higher-up" spirits and tailed them. Later I spotted her with a handful of other spirits on some mission, and she looked awfully flustered. She was all like," the female spirit raised and eyebrow and turned her head rapidly a few times, imitating Tsubasa's nervousness. "It looked like she did not want to be there."

"Amazing," Haku acknowledged, even when he and Tsukasa went to spy on the tengu in search of Tsubasa, they could not find her. But…Tsubasa working for the enemy was certainly bad news.

"I'm a woman that get's the job done. Moreover," she took on a more somber tone, "The tengu has created a peculiar program named the S.I.A: Spirits Intelligence Agency."

"…Spirits Intelligence Agency?"

"Right, its purpose is still unknown to me at the moment and the enlistment qualifications are highly selective. Hopefully I can worm my way in by certain means, but as of now, it is impossible. And their form of communication is quite odd as well…they never contact the tengu or even his human sidekick."

Human? "He works with a human?" It was strange that the most powerful spirit would work side by side with a human; furthermore, it was incredibly ironic. That human was actively destroying his own world with full knowledge of the consequences.

"Yup, although his name is only known to few," Ikumi noted, "Speaking of human, Tsubasa was also in a human form, as a matter of fact, many of the other spirits resembled humans as well."

They probably disguised themselves like so to move inconspicuously throughout the Human World.

"Now, one-third of the payment." She held out her hand.

Haku stared at her empty palm then replied, a bit puzzled, "I already gave you one-third as down payment."

"I know."

"Then why should I pay another third?"

The spirit drummed her fingers along the edge of the table in a fancy rhythm. "Well Kohaku," she smirked, "They say money makes the world go 'round."

Haku gave her a stern stare, and to that response Ikumi added, "And should I mention that it's a dangerous job?" She knew she had won.

Dangerous was correct. Throughout her mission death would be watching; with one wrong step, it would stoop down and lift her soul away. Yet they also had to be on guard, watching each other's move, because death is to the ignorant.

There was a faint sensation of tingling down his spine, it was the presence of another spirit; both Haku and Ikumi turned to the window. "Tsukasa," the dragon said.

…

Beads of water fell to the ground silently, creating a small splash as it set foot on the earth then dissolving into nothing. Chihiro wrapped a towel around her body and wrung out the remaining water from her auburn hair. She looked up and saw a reflection of a blur of whom she was supposed to be, for the mirror was clouded up due to the warm condensation in the air; she took her fist and wiped away the mists until her face was made clear. Taking her towel, she rubbed her hair dry and let it waterfall down her shoulders. Just a simple change in hairstyle gave her more of a feminine and elegant vibe, like the lotus flower that sat in a large porcelain vase in the corner of the room. The flower's beauty beckoned her to walk over to it and stroked one of its white satin petals. There was just something about floral scents that made her forget about her allergies; she leaned in and took a whiff. She pulled away quickly; it was almost an automatic reaction. It was the familiar intoxicating aroma of old wine. It was the scent her father always had after his company collapsed. It was the scent that disappeared from their house when her father left. It was the scent she hated but would rather have than nothing at all.

…End of Chapter V…

A/N:

Haha, more OCs! Yey! I create them to shape the plot and to assist in developing the characters, not just purely for fun and confusion (wa ha ha…).

Also, Tsukasa has officially made himself one of my favorite characters~ whatta baller. And Chihiro's past makes me sad…there will be more later:)

If you noticed, the last paragraph is slightly more "symbolic" then the rest (that means I did the job properly! Yey! Or you're just plain amazing at figuring these types of things out, man), and if you didn't…well…sorry about that. ANYHOO. This is super important for Chihiro's character development, so yeah. Lotus flowers typically symbolize beauty, rebirth, and purity and according to , "The flower always looks so clean and pure against the background of the dirty pond... the Lotus slowly emerges from a pond over a three day period and then blooms in the morning until mid-afternoon." Oh! Don't forget the mirror too~ Ho hum:) And if you don't give a crap, I dunno, just read it straight-forwardly then~

*ココくんのチョコクリスピー. It's a type of cereal, something like chocolate Rice Krispies.

Hope you had some happy reading! Please review if you're feelin' it today~ I hope you're feeling it lol.

From,

The Other White Rabbit


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